Python Eggs are a way of bundling additional information with a Python project, that allows the project's dependencies to be checked and satisfied at runtime, as well as allowing projects to provide plugins for other projects.

EasyInstall is a package manager for Python that provides a standard format for distributing Python programs and libraries (based on the Python Eggs format). EasyInstall is a module bundled with Setuptools.[3] It is analogous to RubyGems for Ruby.

EasyInstall is not a fully fledged package manager. It cannot list local packages nor update them all. Pip and Python Package Manager (PyPM) are Python applications designed to fulfill a similar role as EasyInstall. The Distribute fork was created specifically due to the lack of progress in EasyInstall development.[4]

By default, EasyInstall looks in the Python Package Index (PyPI) for the desired packages and uses the metadata there to download and install the package and its dependencies.